I danced around him, kicking him in the ribs. My blood hummed and sizzled. His weak attempts to block me only fueled my frenzy. In that state of mind, I might have killed him.
Reyad’s ghost cheered me on. “That’s it, Yelena,” he urged. “Kill another man, and it’s the noose for sure.”
Somehow, his words reached the rational part of my mind, and I stopped, breathing hard. Nix was still. I knelt beside him and felt for a pulse. A strong throb met my fingertips. The relief that coursed through me vanished when Nix clutched my elbow.
I yelped and punched him in the face. His grip relaxed, and I pulled my arm free. Snatching the knife from the floor, I took Janco’s often-repeated advice for self-defense: “Hit and git.” I ran. But this time fear didn’t follow me. I ran with imaginary scarlet wings flowing behind me.
Moving fast to ward off the shakes that threatened to overpower me, I reached the baths. They were empty at this time of day, so I hid Nix’s knife under one of the towel tables. I checked the extent of my wounds in the mirror. The cut on my neck had stopped bleeding. But two deep gashes on my palms looked serious enough to require the medic’s attention. There was also a wild, unrecognizable shine to my eyes, as if I had turned feral. I bared my teeth and thought,
Medic Mommy gave me a quick appraisal. She pointed to an examining table. I perched on the edge and held my hands out for inspection.
“How…” she started.
“Broken glass,” I said.
She nodded, lips pressed tight in thought. “I’ll get my medkit.”
I stretched out on the bed when she returned with her metal tray full of instruments. A jar of Rand’s glue seemed out of place among the medical supplies, like a child’s toy surrounded by adult paraphernalia. My hands had started to throb, and I dreaded the medic’s ministrations. I turned my head in time to see Valek burst into the infirmary. Just what I needed, I thought, sighing. This had turned out to be one hell of a bad day.
“What happened?” Valek demanded.
I glanced at the medic.
She took my right hand and began to clean my wound. “Broken glass leaves jagged lacerations. These clean slices are obviously from a knife. I’m required to report it.”
The medic had reported me to Valek and he wasn’t going to leave without an answer. With resignation I focused on him, hoping to distract myself from the pain in my hands. “I was attacked.”
“By who?” His tone sharp.
I cut my eyes at the medic, and Valek understood.
“Could you excuse us for a minute?” he asked her.
She pursed her lips as if considering his request. Her authority overruled Valek’s for all medical situations.
“Five minutes,” she ordered, and walked to her desk on the far side of the infirmary.
“Who?” Valek repeated.
“Nix, a guard in Parffet’s unit. Said he worked for Brazell and warned me to stop training.”
“I’ll kill him.”
The intensity of Valek’s voice shocked and alarmed me. “No, you won’t,” I said, trying to sound firm. “You’ll use him. He’s a link to Brazell.”
His hard blue eyes found mine and held my gaze, probing deep. “Where did he attack you?”
“A storeroom about four or five doors up from our training room.”
“He’s probably long gone by now. I’ll send someone to the barracks.”
“He won’t be there.”
“Why not?” Valek gave me a look that reminded me of the Commander. His eyebrows were raised in an effort to suppress his emotions, inviting me to continue.
“If he’s not in the storeroom, he won’t have gotten far. You might want to send a couple of men.”
“I see.” Valek paused. “So your training has been progressing to your satisfaction?”
“Better than expected.”
Valek left the infirmary. Medic Mommy, the stoolie, returned to my side. Next time, I thought bitterly, I’ll heal myself and avoid being betrayed by the medic. I still had a jar of Rand’s glue in my backpack. How hard could it be to seal a couple of cuts?
I chewed on my lower lip while she finished cleaning and sealing my cuts. Wrapping bandages tightly around my hands, she gave me instructions that would allow them to heal: no immersion in water for a day, no lifting or writing for a week. And that meant no training for a while, I thought.
Valek’s men entered. They dumped Nix onto another examining table. The medic shot me a quizzical expression, then she bustled over to Nix’s groaning form, giving me the perfect opportunity to leave.
I hurried to the Commander’s office, but Valek had beaten me there. He closed the door behind him as he joined me in the throne room.
“I’ve taken care of dinner,” he said, guiding me back through the maze of desks. It was early evening, and only a handful of advisers were working.
“Find Margg and cancel tonight’s meeting, then go back to our suite and get some rest,” he said.
“Cancel? What for? It would look suspicious. I’ll wear gloves to cover the bandages. It’s cold enough at night; nobody will notice.” When he didn’t reply, I added, “I’m fine.”
He smiled. “You should take a look at yourself in a mirror.” He hesitated, his face creasing in indecision. “All right. We’ll proceed as planned.”
We stopped at the door to Valek’s office. “I have some work to finish. Rest and don’t worry. I’ll be close by tonight.” He inserted his key.
“Valek?”
“Yes.”
“What will happen to Nix?”
“We’ll patch him up, threaten him with years in the dungeon if he doesn’t cooperate, and when he’s done helping us, I’ll reassign him to MD–1. Good enough? Or should I kill him?”
Military District 1 was the coldest, bleakest district in Ixia. The possibility of Nix falling prey to a snow cat brought a wicked grin to my face. “No. Reassignment’s good. If I had wanted him dead, I would have done it myself.”
Valek straightened his spine, snapping me a look. A combination of surprise, amusement and wariness over my comment flashed across his face before he reined in his emotions and was once again my stone-faced Valek.
I smiled my best Janco impression and headed down the hall. Resting would have to wait since I had a number of errands to run before the evening’s meeting. First, I needed a pair of gloves and a cloak. As the cooling season dwindled toward the cold season, the nights had turned sharp and brisk, coating everything in a blanket of ice so that the blades of grass sparkled like diamonds when touched by the morning sun.
Thanking fate that Dilana was still in her sewing room, I chatted with her about the latest gossip before I made my request.
“My goodness,” she said, sounding like a worried matron. “You don’t have any clothes for the cold!” She bustled about her stacks of uniforms. Her soft, honey-colored ringlets bounced with each movement. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner?” she admonished.
I laughed. “I haven’t needed them till now. Dilana, do you mother everyone in the castle?”
She stopped piling clothes to look at me. “No, dear, just the ones that need it.”
“Thanks,” I said in a tone of affectionate sarcasm.
By the time she was through outfitting me for the cold season, I was inundated with a heap of clothing. With all of the flannel undergarments, wool socks and heavy boots, I probably could survive on the pack ice for weeks. I stashed the pile into a corner of the room and asked Dilana to have someone deliver them to Valek’s suite.
“Still there?” she asked with a grin.
